Do you have a passion for writing? Perhaps you’ve just begun to explore the world of your imagination and need encouragement to develop some of those ideas. Or maybe you’ve been scribbling down stories and poems for ages, but aren’t sure what to do with them all now.

While there is a lot more to the writing and editing process than smashing out a draft and sending it straight to a competition or publisher, there are plenty of opportunities out there if you know where to look. To that end, I’ve been searching out and collating competitions for young writers in Australia between July and December 2017. They’re listed in order of closing date, except the first one which will close once 500 entries have been received.

I hope you’ll check some of them out further and take the next step in sending your writing out into the world.

NB: I have recently reversed the order of the competitions, so that those with a closing date already reached are at the bottom of the list. This means that the ones that are still open for submissions are in the first part of the post. I have also discovered several more competitions, so there are actually 24 in total, despite the title of the post.

1. The 2017 National Child Writes Competition

The Brief:Write a story suitable for a children’s picture book, no longer than 800 words OR submit three full colour A4 sample illustrations, showcasing at least three different characters and settings.

Open to: all Australian primary-school aged child writers and illustrators.

3. The 2018 Somerset National Novella Writing Competition

Open to: All current secondary students attending school in Australia. Students receiving home schooling are also eligible to enter.

Cost: $20.00.

Prizes: State winners will have the opportunity to attend the Somerset Celebration of Literature festival, where the National winner will be announced. In addition to a monetary prize, the winner will receive a full editorial report courtesy of Penguin Random House.

5. Redgum Young Writers Award

The Brief: Create a children’s picture book of up to 250 words or a children’s short story of between 850 and 1000 words.

Open to: School children aged between 9 and 13 years of age; this includes students who are homeschooled.

Categories: The Children’s Picture Book category involves writing a short, structured story and can be fiction or non-fiction. The Children’s Short Story category requires students to create a work of short fiction. No illustrations are required for either category.

Cost: Free.

Prizes: There will be five authors shortlisted in each category. The winner of each category will receive a $250 Redgum Book Club Voucher; the winning story will be proofread, edited, illustrated and published by Redgum. The other four shortlisted entries in each category will receive a $150 Redgum Book Club voucher and a certificate.

6. GWC Children’s Corner Short Story Competition 2017

(NB: Submissions for this competition have closed for 2017)

The Brief: Write up to 500 words (prose) or 20 lines (poetry) on the theme of ‘colour’. Poetry, prose, fiction, memoirs and non-fiction are all acceptable. The word limit is 500 words for prose or 20 lines for poetry.

Open to: anyone aged between 10 and 17.

Categories: 10 and under; 11-17 at closing date.

Cost: free.

Prizes: In each age group, first prize is a book voucher and second prize is a stationary pack. Commended certificates may also be awarded and there is an opportunity to be published in November 2017 issue of Showcase Magazine.

Prizes: Writers of the ten best poems in each category will be published on author Sarah Brennan’s Funny and Fabulous blog. The best entry in each category will also win a free signed copy of her book Storm Whale, sent to their school for awarding in assembly.

8. KSP Poetry Competition

Open to: Adult section open to Australian residents and citizens. Youth section open to Western Australian residents only.

Categories: youth (12-20 years) and adult, as well as an Annette Cameron Encouragement Award for WA-born or current WA residents over the age of 18 who have never published a full collection of poetry either in print or online.

Prizes: First place certificates with $300 prize for open and $100 for youth; Second place certificates with $150 prize for open and $50 for youth; up to five commended certificates for both open and youth; Mundaring National Young Writers encouragement award for under 14s with $25 prize. All winning entries offered publication in Swan Magazine and select entrants invited to read their story at KSP’s End of Year Awards Ceremony.

10. Writing for Life 2017

(NB: Submissions for this competition have closed for 2017)

The Brief: Step into the minds of someone on the transplant waiting list, someone whose loved one has saved many lives through organ or tissue donation. In 300 words or less, imagine how you would feel and what you could tell the world about your experience.

11. 2017 Heywire Competition

(NB: Submissions for this competition have closed for 2017)

The Brief: Tell a story (in any media: text, video, photography or audio)about an aspect of your life in Australia outside the major cities. This can be 400 words written text, 2-4 minutes on video, 10 photographic images OR 2-4 minutes of audio.

Open to: Australian residents aged between 16 and 22 who live outside Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide or Perth.

Cost: Free.

Prizes: Each Prize Winner will receive the opportunity for their story to be produced for ABC Radio or for the Heywire website; and an all-expenses paid trip to the Heywire Regional Youth Summit in Canberra in February 2018, including return economy airfares from the Prize Winner’s nearest capital city to Canberra, five night’s accommodation in Canberra, airport transfer costs and catering.

12. KSP Memoir Competition

(NB: Submissions for this competition have closed for 2017)

The Brief: In the youth category of this competition, write on the theme ‘A Day in …’ (enter your home-town or WA holiday location) up to 500 words. The adult category can be to a maximum of 1000 words on an open theme.

Open to: Adult section open to Australian residents and citizens. Youth section open to Western Australian residents only.

Prizes: First place certificates with $300 prize for open and $100 for youth; Second place certificates with $150 prize for open and $50 for youth; up to five commended certificates for both open and youth; Mundaring National Young Writers encouragement award for under 14s with $25 prize. All winning entries offered publication in Swan Magazine and select entrants invited to read their story at KSP’s End of Year Awards Ceremony.

13. The Scribe Nonfiction Prize

The Brief: Submit a piece of writing between 5,000 and 10,000 words, in any nonfiction genre including memoir, journalism, essay, biography and creative nonfiction.

Open to: Residents of Australia who are 30 years old or under.

Prizes: The winner receives $3,000, an, an editorial mentorship to develop their work and a selection of new-release Scribe books. Other short-listed writers will receive an invitation to a masterclass with some of Australia’s best nonfiction writers at Scribe Publications on November 23, personalised feedback on their entry and a selection of new-release Scribe books.

15. Outstanding LGBTIQ Short Story Competition

(NB: Submissions for this competition have closed for 2017)

The Brief: Write a short story of 750 words or less on the theme ‘It’s Complicated’. Stories should have relevance to the broader Australian or New Zealand LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer) community.

Open to: Writers based in Australian and New Zealand.

Categories: For the first time there is an under 25 category (there is also an open category).

Cost: free.

Prizes: includes a youth prize of $500 for a writer aged 25 and under.

Prizes: First place certificates with $300 prize for open and $100 for youth; Second place certificates with $150 prize for open and $50 for youth; up to five commended certificates for both open and youth; Mundaring National Young Writers encouragement award for under 14s with $25 prize. All winning entries offered publication in Swan Magazine and select entrants invited to read their story at KSP’s End of Year Awards Ceremony.

19. 2017 Monash WordFest Short Story Competition

(NB: Submissions for this competition have closed for 2017)

The Brief: Write a short story. Word limit depends on age group: 12-14 years (500 words max); 15-17 years (1,000 words max); Adult (2,000 words max). Exceeding the word limit will result in disqualification.

Open to: Participants must reside, work or study in the City of Monash, or be a member of the Monash Public Library Service (MPLS).

20. Make Your Own Storybook Competition (ACT)

The Brief: Create a picture up to 500 words or story book up to 5000 words, that tells an ORIGINAL story using original text and original illustrations.

Open to: students in Year 1-6 from CBCA member schools in ACT only.

Categories:

Years 1-2 Picture Book

Years 3-4 Picture Book

Years 3-4 Story Book

Years 5-6 Picture Book

Years 5-6 Story Book

Special Needs Junior (1-3)

Special Needs Senior (4-6)

Australian Nature Book

Prizes: One First Place and one Highly Commended prize will be awarded for each category. The Field Naturalists’ Association of Canberra will also award the Bettong Prize for the Best Australian Nature Book.

24. The Good Oil Young Writers’ Award

(NB: Submissions for this competition have closed for 2017)

The Brief: submit a piece of writing between 750 and 1000 words, adopting one of the following writing styles – journalistic feature writing, opinion writing, creative writing, or first person reflective writing. Using one of these forms, explore the theme ‘Who is my neighbour?’

Open to: all secondary students and post-school young adults in Australia, Japan, the Philippines and Kirbati.

Categories: secondary students (years 7 to 9); secondary students (years 10 to 12); post school (18 to 35 years).

Cost: free.

Prizes: First prize $500; second prize $300 and third prize $200 in each of the three age groups.

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